Nora Ashbrook
Nora Ashbrook is a mutant and the second eldest of the Ashbrook sisters. Along with being able to duplicate herself mutiple times, Nora is also a technopath. Early Life Nora was born Nora Marie Ashbrook to Susan Erroll and Leonard Ashbrook. The second of three siblings, Nora struggled with family life, often arguing with her mother after her father abandoned the family to the point where it wasn't unusual for her to run away. Not long after her eldest sister, Maggie Ashbrook, accidentally killed three people with her powers at a party, Nora's own mutations began to emerge. Although Nora, unlike Maggie, was fond of her abilities, her mother had since become fearful of mutants and had joined a religious sect known as Corinthians Hill which believed mutants to be possessed by demons. As a result of her mother's persecution, Nora was forced to hide her mutations for a long time until she was found out by her mother. Nora was taken to the Corinthians Hill church, where she was told she would be staying as part of a special 'cleansing camp' that would 'excorcise her of her demons.' Staff refused to let her leave, and the excorcisms involved days of starvation, abuse at the hands of staff and torture. After attempting escape using her powers, Nora was stripped naked, and was locked in the pitch-dark basement for three days with no food, the only communication from staff who would visit to abuse her. Nora soon escaped the facility and fled to New York, however, she still refuses to disclose the details of her escape. Life in New York Without much money or an education, Nora quickly resorted to criminal activity to survive. She initially used her powers to steal from online banking systems, but was soon caught and arrested. Afraid of being busted again, she began working as a prostitute, often scamming clients using her duplication ability (although she claims it made little difference on how it effected her emotionally.) She continued to keep an eye on her younger sister, Hazel, who remained with their mother, using what money she could save to give Hazel a constant line of communication with her. Nora was soon recruited by Tony Stark to assist in finding Maggie during her rebellion, and stayed on perminantly on the condition that Hazel was also taken in. Because of Nora's criminal record, she was unable to become Hazel's legal guardian -- a role taken up by Jennifer Walters . Leaving Stark Tower Nora, while following Hazel during one of her 'adventures' to keep her safe, witnessed Hazel being escorted home by Bane, who had recently arrived in the city. Despite his intentions being nothing but genuine, Nora still attacked him to try and keep him away from her. Nora didn't stand a chance, and Bane mocked her for her lack of expertise. In exchange for her spine, Nora agreed to train with him in secret. Dr Jonothan Crane, working with the Joker, soon betrayed her by drugging her and framing her as a theif and attacker. Unable to return to the tower, Nora went underground with Bane, working with him to rescue Hazel from The Joker. Incensed that Stark refused to trade Maggie over for Hazel, who was innocent of any wrong doing, Nora and Bane began training and planning for class warfare. Class Warfare Shortly before their plans could be enacted, Hazel had a chance encounter with Hayden Helios. Despite the tone being pleasant between them, Bane soon discovered Hayden and tried to kidnap him. Wanting to help Hayden, Nora attacked Bane to buy him time to escape. However, Hayden stayed back to try and save her from Bane's rage, and ended up kidnapped and detained in their sewer base as bait for Jennifer -- who Bane had slowly become obsessed with. As per the plan, Nora used her technopathic abilities to shut down all the power and tech in the city with the exception of hospitals, something Bane planned to use as leverege later on. Despite her wishes for Hayden to be freed, Nora refused to leave Bane, even when he was eventually disabled by Jennifer, who then knocked her out and took her by force. Despite being held at a Stark facility, Nora soon went missing after the power was enabled again by the Convenient Plot Device Doctor. Stark's intel last traced her entering Saudi Arabia, although Bane remains in the city and has noted she is "in a place where she can survive her current condition."